For many harried parents, a dinner at home is limited to a few tired dishes or involves a take-out menu or something from the supermarket's frozen food section.

But healthy, creative cooking needn't eat up time and energy, as cookbook author Katie Workman explains in 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in Her Back Pocketon Friday, May 4, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

The event is part of the Library's Friday Night Family Fun series.

This event isn't just all talk. Under Workman's direction, kids and parents will whip up an easy and tasty dish.

The founding editor in chief of Cookstr.com and a mother of two, Workman offers solutions to the 20 most common cooking dilemmas that every modern mom faces, providing recipes and tips for parents who are so baffled by their kids' food preferences that mealtime has become a minefield.

English muffin pizza as a breakfast alternative, lunches that won't get tossed, snacks that don't come in crinkly bags, seafood dishes that even fish-o-phobes will gobble up, and the fudgiest brownies ever - these are a few of Workman's solutions.

Because she knows what it's like to be a mom in the kitchen, Workman's recipes even include special Fork-in-the-Road suggestions (make one basic dish while still catering to different tastes), Make-Ahead recipes (they can be prepared and stored for later use), and What-the-Kids-Can-Do suggestions.

Workman writes about food and cooking for websites and magazines, including The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, AOL Food, KitchenDaily.com, AARP.com, and New York magazine. She sits on the board of City Harvest, New York's leading food rescue nonprofit, and is an active supporter of Share Our Strength.

Admission is free. The event will be preceded by a 6 p.m. reception. RSVP online or call 816.701.3407.